The First Step
by theflexibledetective
Summary: Post 6x17 "In the Belly of the Beast." Beckett knew that the first step was the hardest, but she would always be grateful that she had found a man who was willing to take that first step with her.


The first step is always the hardest.

She had been standing in front of the shower for half an hour now.

Castle kept sneaking little glances into the bathroom to see if Beckett had managed to get in, but she was still standing there, stock still, watching as the water swirled into the drain.

He offered help when she first announced that she was going to take one, but she refused. She was fine. She could do this.

Baths were out of the question for now, and she hated that. She hoped that this was a passing phobia, one that time, and maybe a bit of therapy could cure.

It had been two days since her almost-death, her near drowning, near shooting experience. It was time. But as much as Beckett wanted to step into that shower, her feet were cinderblocks glued to the bathroom floor, and she couldn't convince them to take that first step in.

The first step, they say, is always the hardest.

Beckett had left the bathroom door slightly ajar, but she heard it as it opened wider when Castle walked in.

"I'm fine," Beckett said as Castle walked up to stand behind her.

"I know," he said, "but I just realized how much I need a shower too. Thought we could kill two birds with one stone."

"Oh, really, Castle? Is that what you thought?"

Beckett turned around to give him her classic eyeroll, but she stopped when she saw the look on his face. They stared at each other for an immeasurable moment, and he ran his fingers over her cheekbones, through her hair, down her arms. He gathered her hands in his, and slowly raised them up above her head, pausing when they were fully extended, silently telling her to keep them there, and she did.

Castle's fingers reached down to the hem of her shirt, and he yanked it up above her head, tossing it on the floor somewhere behind him. Her pants, bra, and underwear quickly followed, and Beckett didn't argue. She stood in front of him, nude, and watched as he stripped. His shirt came off, and she imagined running her fingers down the plains of his chest and stomach. She was reminded of all the times she had run her tongue around his nipples, his belly button, his hips. They stared at each other as he slowly took his pants and boxers off, and the inches that separated them felt like miles.

He took her gently by the shoulders and spun her around again to face the shower. Castle's arms circled around her, and he took Beckett's hands in his own as he slowly moved them towards the shower. She hesitated before she took that first step in, and he dipped his head down close to her ear.

"It's okay," he said, "I've got you."

She nodded and they stepped into the shower together.

They were right. The first step is always the hardest.

The water was piping hot when it first hit Beckett's skin, and she jumped back in surprise. Castle was right behind her, and she sunk back into him as he propelled them forward into the steamy spray.

He didn't push her any farther when her legs and stomach were engulfed in the water. Instead, he took her loofah that was hanging from the shower wall, and lathered it with her favourite shower gel. Beckett's eyes closed as Castle started to slowly soap her up. He ran the loofah around her breasts and stomach. Beckett's mouth went dry as he paid special attention to her nipples, his tongue drawing identical circles on her neck. Castle used his hands to cup the water at her stomach, and splash it onto her breasts to wash the soap off of her breasts. They both watched as the soap dripped down her stomach and into the small patch of pubic hair at her pelvis. Castle ran his fingers through it slowly. Beckett gasped as his fingers slid slowly against her clit. He played with a nipple with one hand as the other played with her clit, and Beckett's gasps echoed harshly against the tiled walls.

To her disappointment, Castle stopped his ministrations, and spun her around to face him, her back to the shower. He very, very gently pushed her until her back, and half of her hair was under the water. She froze momentarily, and Castle took her face in his hands. He thumbed her bottom lip.

"Okay?" he asked as he felt her relax again. Beckett nodded.

"Yeah."

He tilted her head back until all of her hair was sopping wet, and he started to lather the shampoo through it. Beckett stepped closer to him, her chest, hips, and thighs pressed against his as he massaged her scalp. He was hard. Beckett could feel his cock pressed against their stomachs, and she shifted slightly to try to get her hand in between them. He stopped her and shook his head.

"Later," he promised, and tipped her head back towards the spray to wash out all of the shampoo. He repeated the process with the conditioner. Beckett was tense with anticipation, and when his hands were busy in her hair, she stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss.

Castle had teased her for most of their shower, and now it was her turn.

Beckett surprised Castle by running her tongue along his bottom lip. He tried to catch her lips with his, but she artfully dodged out of the way. She reached up again, and this time she playfully nipped at his lip. Castle growled in frustration as she refused to deepen the kiss. He rinsed the conditioner out of her hair, and she let him, and then wrapped his arm around her hip, and turned so that his back was now to the water, and he pinned her against the shower wall.

Beckett gasped as her legs instinctually wrapped around him, and his cock slipped between her legs to bump against her clit. Her arms reached out to brace herself against the wall, and she accidentally knocked the shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel bottles off the shelf. They clattered loudly on the floor.

Their lips hungrily sought each other's, and their kiss was violent and desperate. Their teeth banged together, and their tongues explored each inch of each other's mouths as if it was the very first time they had done this. Castle had both of his hands wrapped around Beckett's thighs for leverage, and he tried to carry them out of the shower and onto sturdier land. Beckett's eye caught the mirror above the vanity that was in the bathroom, adjacent to them, and a hot flash ran through her as she realized that at this angle she could see everything they were doing. A blush crept up her neck that told her how hot she thought this was, and she stilled Castle's attempt to get them out of the shower.

"No," she told him, "here."

He followed her gaze and noticed their vantage point. Their eyes met in the mirror, and Castle's lazy smirk told Beckett that he knew exactly what he was doing when he put that mirror in that particular spot. Instead of some sassy quip, Beckett tilted her hips slightly so that Castle's cock could smoothly slip inside her, and they both watched each other in the mirror as he entered her.

Beckett's eyes closed for a fraction of a second as she enjoyed the delicious feeling of her pussy stretching to accommodate him. Castle turned his head back to suck lightly on her neck, just the way she liked it as he slowly started to fuck her, and Beckett watched all of this through the mirror, with heavy lidded eyes.

Castle slowly let go of one of her legs, allowing her to drop it back down to the ground for balance, and the other leg he pushed up so that her thigh was practically pressed flush against the wall, and _good god_, she really was flexible. He held her like that, pinned against the wall as he pumped in and out of her, faster and faster. Beckett fingernails clawed his back, desperately searching for purchase on his smooth, water-slicked skin. He bit her neck a little bit harder this time as he thrust up hard, and Beckett screamed a little as his pelvis pushed against her clit.

Her breathing was ragged, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from the mirror. Jesus, she couldn't believe that they looked this hot together. She moved her hips in time with his, and they sped up their movements as they got closer and closer to orgasm.

"C-castle," Beckett managed to choke out, and Castle's responding grunt only fuelled her lust-addled brain. She moved her one hand back to the shelf for balance, and the other she slipped between them to touch herself. Castle pulled away from her neck and turned so he could watch her in the mirror, and they found themselves staring at each other in the mirror as he fucked her senseless.

"I-I'm going to..." Beckett said.

"Yes. _Yes_." Castle said, their pace became discordant as they both slowly started to reach their peak. Castle pushed as hard as he could into her, over and over again, and started to get lightheaded as he felt Beckett's pussy starting to pulse around him.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," Beckett managed to gasp as her muscled tensed and her eyes closed and her mind blanked as she came hard, her whole body trembling in Castle's arms as little explosions wracked her body. Castle's cock jerked inside of her and he grabbed her face in his hands to kiss her hard as they both rode out their orgasms. He bit her lip as he slowed his movement, and the shock set off another small orgasm for Beckett. Her hips twitched against him as little aftershocks ran through her body, and Castle slipped out of her when he let her other leg drop back down to the shower floor.

Their eyes met once more in the adjacent mirror, and they both grinned sheepishly at each other. Castle turned the shower off, and Beckett wobbled out of the shower to grab them a couple towels from the rack.

They had haphazardly dried off, and stumbled back into the bedroom for an afternoon nap. Beckett woke an hour later, and cuddled close to Castle, content to just watch him sleep.

Beckett knew that the first step was the hardest, but she would always be grateful that she had found a man who was willing to take that first step with her.

Always.

* * *

**A/N: I couldn't help myself. This episode was too amazing not to write a follow-up fic for it. I apologize for any errors, I haphazardly edited this, so please feel free to let me know of any glaring mistakes I may have left in this. Yes, I am trying to update my in-progress fics as well, it's just I had all of them saved on a memory stick, which I lost (pretty sure it fell out of my coat pocket as I was leaving a movie) so now I'm mad and I haven't had the heart to rewrite all of it.**

**If you found the time to review, that'd be lovely. I hope you enjoyed!**


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